< http://www.PeaPod.com > goes to Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, and some parts of New York state and Connecticut.

< http://www.GetGroceries.com > is a network of stores that deliver to parts of Colorado, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington state.

< http://www.NetGrocer.com > offers nationwide grocery delivery - but they accomplish this by shipping through Federal Express. While this might make sense if you want to make sure you never run out of non-perishable staples like macaroni and cheese, this won't work in a sick kid situation.

Safeway is experimenting with home deliveries, and if you live in Portland, OR or Vancouver, you are in luck. (And if so, please go to < http://shop.safeway.com/ > and start using service whether your child is sick or not! If their test is successful, a national rollout would be a godsend!)

* You should have an "activity kit" that you can bring out on a sick day. Be on lookout for children's videos that go on sale, computer games that could be fun and educational, coloring books, crayons, stickers, etc. Stash these in a closet until they are needed. This could give you hours of uninterrupted work time before they start complaining that they are bored.

* You probably try to limit amount of time your kids spend watching television. But when they are home sick and you are trying to get some work done, TV can be your best friend. There is no better time to relax rules a bit - and one Nickelodeon-saturated day will not hurt them in long run.

* Accept fact that you will not be as productive this week. If do not already have a to-do list, start one now and rank your priorities. Chances are, you'll find lots of tasks that can wait a few days until your child is back in school.

Plan to do only what is absolutely necessary. If you're lucky, you may even be able to tackle a few of things that are lower on list... just don't count on it.

* Rely on your voice mail system. Change your outgoing message to reflect fact that you may not be available during regular office hours. You don't have to reveal your reason if it is not appropriate. Simply state that you will be out of office for a few days but will check in for messages. Prioritize your calls and return them accordingly.

* You may need to cancel or reschedule your appointments. If this is not possible, enlist a friend, family member or babysitter to stay with your kids while you are out-- and don't feel guilty about it.

Above all, cherish this time when your kids need you to care for them. In sickness and in health, these years are special ...and they don't last forever.

2. Get listed on search engines. This is really important, too. A great website doesn't do you any good if nobody can find it, now does it? This can be a little more expensive, but you'll find it pays off if you do it right. Choose a popular engine or two, and then register key words that you think people who are looking for your type of business might use. Most pay-per-click engines offer a ranking when you submit words so you know where you'll be on list when you pay a certain amount. Try to get top ten listings with at least two of your terms.

3. Use Autoresponders to get in touch with prospective clients. Have a place on your website where interested customers can enter their email addresses. Then have an autoresponder service send out one, three, or even seven follow-up mailers. This is a great way to bring in people who can't quite make up their minds. There are lots of great sites that are cheap or even free that offer this service as well. Again, do a search and pick one that works best for you.

This combination of website, search engine listing, and autoresponder has worked great for me. My business is booming now, and I couldn't be happier. Give it a try and I bet it will work for you.